Step 4: The Gel Wax

Step 5: The Finished Product

The gel wax and bubbles diffuse the red and blue light for a purple-ish glow. Alternatives to the gel wax that I might try in the future could be: - ...

Step 3: Prepare the Bottle

You have to use a special glass drill bit to drill a hole in the wine bottle. You can find them at Lowes or Home Depot for about $7 each, or a 4 pack for $16. It will take 10 - 15 minutes to drill all the way through the bottle with these.

On my first try, I broke the bottle. After the hole went all the way through the bottle, the drill slipped forward and the drill chuck cracked the bottle. On my second try, I pushed a wine cork over the drill bit so it would act as a stopper and prevent the bottle from breaking again.

To drill the hole:
1. Put a cork over your glass drill bit so you don't break the bottle with the drill (see the picture)
2. Wrap the bottle in a towel and clamp it to a work table
3. Make sure you have a squirt bottle of water and a full drill battery
4. Start drilling straight down, and squirt the bottle with water every 5 - 10 seconds
5. Expect it to take 10 - 15 minutes to drill all the way through, don't use too much pressure
6. Use even less pressure when the hole is almost all the way through so you don't break the bottle

After the hole was drilled, I fed the phone charger cable through and held it in place with hot glue. The wrapping wire runs through the top of the bottle so it can be connected to the circuit that was built in the previous step.

The cork:
Drill a hole in the bottom of the cork that is big enough for the toggle switch to fit in. The hole should go almost all the way through the cork. Then, turn the cork over and drill a small hole in the top so only the handle of the switch will poke through.

After you have the cork and bottle ready, finish connecting your LED circuit, and fit it into the cork. Let it hang outside the bottle so you can pour the wax in the next step.

This looks like an awesome project!! So how do you connect the LED Circuit to the phone charger because the phone charger is entering through the base and the LED Circuit is at the top of the bottle. Would you not have to connect them before they are both inside the bottle, otherwise that seems a little tricky?

Diamond bits work best for drilling glass. A dremel, or smaller motorizet tool would help the weight issues, and repeated slight up and down motions speed up the process. You are in reality grinding through the glass, not really drilling it.